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Director's Message June 2003Greetings, and welcome to the VMNH. As you can see on our homepage, we have engaged the talents of a very knowledgeable website designer to give us both a new look and a MUCH more user-friendly site. Yes, we have lots of information here, and we add as much as we can with each update, but we also know that a site designed by a zoologist is not necessarily easy to navigate. With a bit of luck, the new site will be premiering in August this year. We are still growing and still experiencing growing pains (so much to do, so little time in which to do it!), but we are all happy with or progress and the favorable and helpful feedback you provide. Our entire staff still has "day jobs" which means that all this work is a labor of love for which none of us is yet getting a salary. The three primary site masters work full-time as a school teacher, aircraft flight entertainment systems engineer, and technical writer, respectively. One spends more time out of the country as in, and anyone who has taught school knows that it is a rewarding yet mentally draining experience. With the new website, updating and editing material will, we have been told, become much easier, and we will be able to send control of different areas to our consultants for direct access. This, too, should increase content and frequency of updates. We are also continuing with our biodiversity survey of Australia's Fitzroy Island in June and July, 2003. Our small team is recruiting a few volunteers and mission sponsors now. Our senior staff will be chasing insects, counting scales, and occasionally swimming in the Great Barrier Reef, all to bring you new information about an interesting and little-studied continental island. If you are interested in visiting this island, contact Fitzroy Island Resort at www.fitzroyisland.com.au In 2002 the VMNH and Morrison Natural History Museum became partners in natural history work, and the VMNH's director was made Curator of Herpetology at the MNHM. Morrison is the town where some of America's most famous dinosaurs were first found, or found in large numbers. These include Apatosaurus, Allosaurus, Camarosaurus, and Colorado's state dinosaur, Stegosaurus. The museum is a wonderful hands-on experience for children aged 3 to 103, and should be a planned visit to anyone traveling the Denver area. Visit their website to learn more. Oh, and we're putting out an irregular hard-copy newsletter for sponsors and contributors. If you'd care to be on the mailing list, click here and become a sponsoring member. That's all for now. I have some photos to upload to the site, so enjoy your visit. Best wishes, Robert G. Sprackland,
Ph.D., Director & President |
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